Put Your Lights On
by KitKatt0430
Summary: Oneshot Sheelos songfic to Put Your Lights On by Everlast. Zelos doesn't know what side to pick, but perhaps Sheena can unwittingly show him the way.


Disclaimer: I'm to poor to anything mentioned within. If I owned any of this I'd be a millionaire not a high school junior.

This takes place at Flanoir and moves on from there. I just felt like putting a Sheelos twist to it. The song was playing while I went through part of this the last time I played and it seemed to describe Zelos perfectly... I thought so, anyway.

Oh, the title/story song is by Everlast… just a little FYI. It's on one of the Santana CDs, and the guitar solo is so much fun to listen to. The one that Zelos sings is "Colors" by Crossfade.

_**Put Your Lights On**_

_Hey now, all you sinners,  
__Put your lights on.  
__Put your lights on._

Zelos stood silently on the small balcony off his room. Four of them had stayed behind and, by luck, all of them had their own rooms. He didn't know where the others were, though he knew Colette was with Lloyd somewhere in the city. Sheena was only Martel knew where, though he was willing to bet she was still inside the Inn.

It was cold and snowing; two wintry events that the redhead typically avoided. Yet, in the face of the decision he knew he must make, Zelos was indulging himself in a fit of melancholy.

A big part of him wanted to blame Kratos Aurion, the traitorous Seraphim, for the decision that he now had to make. But the majority of him also knew that he'd have to have made the choice anyway. It wasn't something that he wanted to do, though.

After all, how does one choose between friends who do what is right and Cruxis, an organization that would surely kill him whether Yggdrasill survived or not. Ahh… choices, choices. Neither sounded remotely appealing.

Zelos glanced through the door into his room, looking longingly at the bed. He wanted to lay down and go to sleep, but he couldn't stop his thoughts. Until he picked a course of action, for Lloyd would certainly confront Cruxis the next day, Zelos would not be able to find solace that night.

The snow falling kept leading his thoughts back to his mother's death and softly he began to sing a song his mother had once sung. Though she'd hated him, as a child Zelos had spent a great deal of time hidden away and pretending it was him that she sang to.

_Hey now, all you lovers,  
__Put your lights on.  
__Put your lights on._

"I know you feel alone, yeah, and no one else can figure you out. But don't you ever turn away from the ones that help you down. Well, they'd love to save you; don't you know they love to see you smile? But these colors that you've shined are surely not your style." Zelos paused, gathering his breath for the last part of the song.

"I didn't know you could sing," Sheena's voice drifted out to him and Zelos turned to see her walk up from further down the balcony. "You sound… sad, though. Is something wrong, Zelos?"

"Nah, the song just seemed appropriate somehow." Zelos smiled at her as brightly, and as fake-ly, as possible. "Have you talked to Lloyd yet?"

"No… he said he didn't want to talk, but then went off with Colette anyway," she replied in a tone bordering on bitter.

"Well, it isn't like people aren't expecting them to announce their engagement soon after the world is saved and they actually realize that there is more to life than saving others." Zelos observed Sheena's scowl that greeted his statement. "You love Lloyd, don't you?" It wasn't really a question. Zelos already knew the answer.

"I… yes. I'm so jealous of Colette, but she's like my little sister." There was a long pause and then the ninja added, "I can't hate her or begrudge her Lloyd after all she's been through. I'm just… jealous."

"Ah… guess unrequited love truly sucks."

"Have you ever loved anyone, Zelos? Out of all those girls you've played, surely one of them held your heart for a while."

You, he thought, but answered with a 'no.' It was expected, anyway.

"One day you will," she promised.

"And cause all of my other hunnies to cry an ocean out of broken-heartedness? I think not."

Sheena thwacked him over the head. "Can't you ever try to be serious."

"If I was serious, you'd have a heart-attack."

"Oh really? Try me."

"Do you really think we can pull it off and defeat Cruxis?"

"What! Maybe you were right…"

"Yggdrasill has an army of soulless angels that are willing to fight on his behalf, not to mention the Desians that are left would fight for him too."

"That's true, but none of it is built on trust. That's what our group has. Trust and hope and… friendship. All of us have become close friends that nothing can break. Not even an army or death could truly take away that sort of faith. It would simply live on in the others."

_Hey now, all you killers,  
__Put your lights on.  
__Put your lights on._

Sheena blushed prettily, embarrassed by her impromptu speech.

"You're right," Zelos agreed, making his choice. "Knowing you guys will be there for me is a new experience. It's unique being around people son honest when everyone else I've ever known has only lied to gain the favor of the Chosen. I've always been a title, not a person. A self-defense mechanism of a church set on auto-pilot." Sheena opened her mouth, but Zelos pointed to the city entrance. "Look, the others are back early. Let's go see if the other four rooms are still available, otherwise we'll be stuck sharing. I wouldn't want my hunnies fighting each other."

Sheena gave him an odd look, but followed anyway.

In his mind, Zelos could hear her angry words already; the hateful things she'd say once she'd discovered the allegiances Zelos had made too long ago to change without bitter consequences.

_Hey now, all you children._  
_Leave your lights on.  
__You better leave your lights on._

"Where are Lloyd and Colette?" Genis demanded, peering around Zelos towards the stairs.

"They went of to chat, or snog, though the last one is unlikely with those two being so naïve," Zelos supplied, patting the kid on the head in a teasing manner.

"Snog?" Genis echoed.

"It means kiss," Presea supplied automatically, then blushing at the same time as Genis.

"It's a British slang-word," Zelos added with a knowing smirk. "I learned it from this chick vacationing in Altamira a few years ago…" he winced as Sheena thwacked him solidly. "Fine, fine. I'm shutting up."

Genis and Presea wandered over to the fire a moment later, the former chatting animatedly with the latter. Regal and Raine remained with Sheena to discuss Altessa's condition.

Guiltily, Zelos slunk up the stairs, his mind replaying the power that Yggdrasill had displayed and the words that Lloyd had spoken the night before. Comparing the two was like comparing night and day. Similarities were present, though typically negligible.

Zelos wondered if he was making the right choice or was simply setting himself to be hunted down and murdered. A shudder ran up his spine as he climbed into bed and finally fell asleep.

All he had were tortured dreams that left him gasping for breath.

_'Cause there's a monster  
__Livin' under my bed,  
__Whisperin' in my ear.  
__And there's an angel  
__With her hand on my head.  
__She say I got nothing to fear... _

Zelos crept out of Altessa's house and easily convinced the guard that he'd take the man's place for a little bit. Once he was certain he was alone, Zelos flicked the holoprojector out of his pocket.

It spun hypnotically on the ground for a moment before an image of Kratos appeared above it.

"Have you made your choice?"

"I guess that means you want an answer to your question in Flanoir. Okay… I'll do it. I'm the only one that can."

"I'm counting on you."

"But why don't you just do it yourself? It isn't as if you actually trust me."

"Lloyd does… so I do too. Besides, I… am being watched. Sending this transmission is about the only thing I can do." The holoprojector flipped off and Zelos stuffed it back into his pocket.

The door opened and shut softly behind Zelos.

"Is someone else out here, Zelos? I though I heard another voice."

"Huh?" Zelos turned around and shook his head. "I've been by myself the entire time. I was probably thinking aloud without noticing it."

"Oh, well… let's get the others and head to the Tower."

Zelos nodded and followed Lloyd inside the house. He couldn't help but wonder if this would be his last day alive in the sun of Tethe'alla's bright mornings.

Oddly enough, it was Colette's voice that set him at ease; it also gave him a different set of jitters. Colette had never hated anyone, but what if she decided to hate him?

_There's a darkness_  
_Livin' deep in my soul,  
__Still got a purpose to serve.  
__So let your light shine  
__Deep into my hole…_

"What are you doing?" Sheena's angry question jarred Zelos for a moment.

His mask nearly slipped, nearly gave him away. "Oh shut up!" he snarled uncharacteristically, whirling around. "I'm just putting myself on the winning side. What you're trying to do is hopeless and meaningless. What's the big deal? Colette wanted to be a sacrifice, remember?"

"Zelos, you traitor."

The redhead winced imperceptibly, a sick feeling washing over him. "Aw, give it a rest, Lloyd."

"Betray you?" Pronyma cut in with a derisive laugh. "How amusing. Zelos was our spy from the beginning. Isn't that right, Zelos?"

"It's not true…" Colette whispered and then added in a louder voice, "please say she's lying…"

"I side with the strongest," Zelos repeated, unable to say anything else. His throat was tightening up.

"I can't believe you!" Sheena's voice cut through the surprise of the others. "You were always a pervert, but I never doubted you were a good person when it came down to it."

"You shouldn't believe all my acting, my sweet, voluptuous, hunny. In the end," he turned away and moved to stand by Pronyma, "I choose this side because they'll make Seles the Chosen."

"You hate being the Chosen so much that you would betray your friends?" Regal sounded surprised and… was there disappointment there as well?

"Oh yeah I do. It's because of that title that my life has been a total joke," he turned around slowly, ignoring Colette's soft pleas for help. "I can't stand it. I can't wait for Seles to become the Chosen instead."

"You're lying! I still trust you, you hear me! You're the one who told me I could trust you!" Anything else Lloyd might've said was cut off as Zelos hit the transport button.

Zelos had never felt like trash before, but now he knew what the phrase meant.

_'n God don't let me loose my nerves.  
__Don't let me loose my nerves…_

The Aionis was in his pocket and Regal had been freed from the angel army. Though suspicious of the redhead's intentions, Duke Bryant had followed Zelos' instructions and was now on his way to the Great Seed's resting-place.

Zelos, on the other hand, was tracing the route underneath the one Lloyd was taking. He'd move up a floor in a few moments, but he had to check two trap-holes first, just to make sure no one had fallen into them.

When Sheena dropped onto the ground in front of him, Zelos suddenly found he couldn't breathe. If she was dead…

He knelt beside her, reaching out to test her pulse, panic racing through him. If she was dead…

Thump, thump… the pulse was good, as was her breathing.

Zelos exhaled slowly, calming his nerves. One healing spell later and he found himself facing an angry awakened ninja woman.

She slapped him as hard as she could.

"I guess I deserved that one," he muttered, ruefully massaging his cheek. "Now, are you going to do that again or are you going to listen to why I'm here?"

Sheena slapped him again.

Zelos pulled out the Aionis and showed it to her. "This is what I came here to get. It's for Lloyd to use. If you want to be there for him when he arrives to confront Yggdrasill, I suggest you listen carefully to my directions." He put the rock away.

"Why are you doing this, Zelos? Why are you double agent-ing and risking death like this? It isn't like you…" she trailed off.

Because I love you, though you don't love me… "My reasons are unimportant."

"No, they aren't."

"Maybe I'll tell you one day, mmkay?"

"I guess that'll do," she sighed.

Zelos began to describe the necessary route.

_Hey now, all you sinners,_  
_Put your lights on.  
__Put your lights on._

_Hey now, all you children._  
_Leave your lights on.  
__You better leave your lights on._

Zelos leapt down from the top of the room, lurching uncertainly as the room quaked. "You okay, Lloyd?" he called, moving over to Colette and reattached her Key Crest.

"What are you doing! I thought you wanted me to set you free of your fate as the Chosen!" Mithos wailed petulantly.

"Oh, you know what? I changed my mind. That won't matter after we beat the snot out of you anyway." Zelos turned to Lloyd and tossed him the Aionis. "Sorry about all that. It was the only way I could get my hands on this. I'm also sorry I've been deceiving you all and holding y'all back."

"How sweet," Mithos mocked. He raised his arm and shot at Colette/Martel.

"Mithos!" Martel's shocked voice reverberated throughout the room. But she wasn't hit. Zelos knocked her out of the way, catching the blast full on. Darkness closed in on him even as he heard Sheena scream his name.

_'Cause there's a monster  
__Livin' under my bed,  
__Whisperin' in my ear.  
__And there's an angel  
__With her hand on my head.  
__She say I got nothing to fear _

Zelos woke up in Heimdall with Raine and Sheena asleep in the chairs at the foot of his bed. It was night and moonlight sneaked in through the shaded windows. He sat up slowly and then dove back under the covers. It was so cold…

"Zelos?" Sheena's sleepy voice penetrated the silence

"I'm awake, hunny."

She walked stiffly to the edge of his bed and sat down next to him. "Don't ever scare me like that again, okay." It was definitely **not** a question.

"All right Sheena, I promise."

"You… you almost died, Zelos…" she dropped to a whisper. "I almost lost you…"

"I guess that makes us even from when I found you on the ground. I thought you were dead then, too. You scared me so badly I thought my heart had stopped… I never thought anything would do that."

"I know why you did all that now."

"Really? Somehow, I doubt it."

"I don't love Lloyd. I thought I did, but now I know I don't. I love… someone else…"

"Who's that?"

"The person who risked everything for a cause he didn't fully believe in… who did it for me, a girl he thought would never love him…"

In the darkness, Zelos found himself smiling the first genuine smile he'd had in years.

_She say_  
_La ilaha il allah  
__You gonna shine like star  
__La ilaha il allah  
__You gonna shine like star_

_Let me fade away..._

A/N Like? Dislike? Don't care? Let me know in reviews. That is the only way to feed an authoress, after all…


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